Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Adventures with Iris

Iris was supposed to be in this picture. I think perhaps that tiny smudge just beneath the tree limbs, up there on our walking path, is her, but who knows? I was standing near where she got caught on the barbed wire fence when I took the shot; I wanted to show how scared she is to go near the place where she got hurt. She stops way up there and waits for us to come back to her. The wound on her leg is slowly getting smaller, but I don't think she will ever forget how and where she got hurt.Saturday Iris had another little accident: She somehow broke her top left canine tooth! I wouldn't have noticed, but when she went after her ball she couldn't take it in her mouth. She would try and fail, then attempt to bat it around with her front feet!

Here's the best picture I could get; only about the bottom third of the tooth is gone. After the first day, she started picking up her ball normally again, and shows no sign that she's in pain. From the searching I did on the Internet, she should be OK without any medical attention, since it's such a small part of the tooth. I will mention it to the vet, though, next time she has to visit him for any reason.

Iris had a visitor over the weekend: Mindy, Cliff's youngest sister's dog. This is about the best she would do at getting along with her guest; you can tell she is thinking, "Just you try and take my frisbee, the fight will be on!" When Mindy tried to get her to play, Iris growled at her. There were no fights, though. In fact, Iris has lost a lot of her "attitude" now that she's lived here awhile and knows her boundaries. She isn't so anxious to stalk the mini-doxie next door, but has adopted sort of a "live-and-let-live" policy. Iris is doing very well at staying near me when I'm outside, and coming when I call. She actually does better at obeying and listening than Sadie did after four years with us. She loves all people, especially kids; she just doesn't like other dogs. At all. One more Iris note: Yesterday we went a few miles down the road to pick up the new battery for our motorcycle and I decided to be brave and leave Iris free, with the run of the house. Except for the bedroom, just in case she forgot the rules and got on the bed. I did make sure nothing edible was on the counters or table, but I left the half-full kitchen trash sitting in its usual spot. I returned to find everything just as I had left it. As long as there are no incidents, I will keep giving her more freedom in the house when we leave for short trips to town.

1 comment:

It sounds like Iris is adjusting well. It has just taken her a little time to accept the fact that she now has a permanent home and people that love her. How wonderful that you found her and can give her a good home.